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a contractual agreement by Lazard Asset Management LLC (the "Investment Manager") to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014 to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .95% and 1.25% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, and from May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.10% and 1.40% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively. All limitations on Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Fund's Board of Directors (the "Board"), and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .75% and 1.05% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.15% and 1.45% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.13% and 1.43% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.30% and 1.60% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.30% and 1.60% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.00% and 1.30% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, and from May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.10% and 1.40% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively. All limitations on Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2016, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.15% and 1.45% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.20% and 1.50% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2016, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.30% and 1.60% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .55% and .85% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .40% and .70% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .80% and 1.10% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the investment management agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio."Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed .90% and 1.20% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the investment management agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.02% and 1.32% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.LAZARD FUNDS INC485BPOSfalse00008749642012-12-312013-04-262013-05-012013-05-01Lazard U.S. Equity Concentrated PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of US companies of any market capitalization. The Portfolio has a concentrated portfolio of investments, typically investing in 15 to 35 companies with market capitalizations generally greater than $350 million. The Portfolio seeks to outperform broad-based securities market indices, such as the S&amp;P 500</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index, the Russell 1000</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index and the Russell 3000</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index. The Investment Manager&#8217;s philosophy employed for the Portfolio is based on value creation through its process of bottom-up stock selection, and the Investment Manager implements a disciplined portfolio construction process. The Investment Manager&#8217;s fundamental research seeks to identify investments typically featuring robust organic cash flow, balance sheet strength and operational flexibility.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of US companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its total assets in securities of non-US companies that trade in US markets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio is classified as &#8220;non-diversified&#8221; under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the &#8220;1940 Act&#8221;), which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>9733559213271274287521667~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20003 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010267Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio, a series of The Lazard Funds, Inc. (the &#8220;Fund&#8221;).</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00700.00700.00000.00250.00580.03890.01280.0484-0.0033-0.03590.00950.0125~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20001 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010267Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20002 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010267Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio&#8217;s net asset value (&#8220;NAV&#8221;) may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>High Portfolio Turnover Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio&#8217;s shareholders.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio's net asset value ("NAV") may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio's investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 116% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>1.16Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">As of May 31, 2012, the Portfolio changed its name from Lazard US Equity Value Portfolio to Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio, adopted the Portfolio&#8217;s current investment strategies and compares its performance to the S&amp;P 500 Index. Prior to May&#160;31, 2012, the Portfolio was classified as a &#8220;diversified&#8221; fund under the 1940 Act.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance (prior to the change in investment strategy described above) compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800)&#160;823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.25230.0165-0.36180.24810.1200-0.01470.1683~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20004 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010267Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028367Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.19102009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.21542008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>19.10%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-21.54%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The Russell 1000 Value/S&amp;P 500 Linked Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, which links the performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index for all periods through May 30, 2012 (when the Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy changed) and the S&amp;P 500 Index for all periods thereafter. In future periods the Portfolio will no longer compare its performance to that of the Russell 1000 Value Index.</font> </p> 0.16830.00530.03830.16670.00300.03140.11150.00410.03000.16510.00220.03540.16000.01660.04270.17510.00590.03380.1390-0.00030.02942005-09-302005-09-30~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20005 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010267Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance (prior to the change in investment strategy described above) compared to that of broad measures of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.The Russell 1000 Value/S&P 500 Linked Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, which links the performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index for all periods through May 30, 2012 (when the Portfolio's investment strategy changed) and the S&P 500 Index for all periods thereafter.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)In future periods the Portfolio will no longer compare its performance to that of the Russell 1000 Value Index.(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Strategic Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of US companies that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. Although the Portfolio generally focuses on large cap companies, the market capitalizations of issuers in which the Portfolio invests may vary with market conditions and the Portfolio also may invest in mid cap and small cap companies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of US companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities of non-US companies, including American Depositary Receipts (&#8220;ADRs&#8221;) and Global Depositary Receipts (&#8220;GDRs&#8221;).</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>7729152411911074027191618~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20010 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010266Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00700.00700.00000.00250.00290.00420.00990.0137-0.0024-0.00320.00750.0105~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20008 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010266Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20009 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010266Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 60% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.60Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Strategic Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.04990.17440.0033-0.35430.28120.13130.01650.1456~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20011 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010266Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028365Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.16462009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.23062008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>16.46%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-23.06%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.14560.01730.03800.14170.01490.03110.09960.01430.03080.14100.01420.03500.16000.01660.04202004-12-302004-12-30~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20012 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010266Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Strategic Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Mid Cap Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of mid cap US companies that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. The Investment Manager considers &#8220;mid cap companies&#8221; to be those companies that, at the time of initial purchase by the Portfolio, have market capitalizations within the range of companies included in the Russell Midcap</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index (ranging from approximately $287.8&#160;million to $28.0&#160;billion as of April&#160;9, 2013).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of medium-size (mid cap) US companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in equity securities of larger or smaller US companies. The Portfolio also may invest up to 15% of its assets in equity securities of non-US companies, including ADRs and GDRs.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>10031254212011284006921523~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20017 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010268Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00750.00750.00000.00250.00230.00260.00980.0126~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20015 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010268Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20016 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010268Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>High Portfolio Turnover Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio&#8217;s shareholders.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 102% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>1.02Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Mid Cap Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.29030.24970.08890.1485-0.0293-0.38330.38490.2343-0.05580.0576~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20018 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010268Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028369Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.21182009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.26542008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>21.18%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>-26.54%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.05760.01030.07500.06790.05710.00890.06660.05260.03800.00850.06320.05110.05440.00760.07210.06480.17280.03570.10650.07881997-11-041997-11-04~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20019 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010268Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Mid Cap Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Small-Mid Cap Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of small to mid capitalization US companies. The Investment Manager considers &#8220;small-mid cap companies&#8221; to be those companies that, at the time of initial purchase by the Portfolio, have market capitalizations within the range of companies included in the Russell 2500</font><font style="FONT-SIZE: 2.5mm"><sup><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif">&#174;</font></sup></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index (ranging from approximately $18.5&#160;million to $10.9&#160;billion as of April&#160;9, 2013).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of small-mid cap US companies. The Investment Manager focuses on relative value in seeking to construct a diversified portfolio of investments for the Portfolio that maintains sector and industry balance, using investment opportunities identified through bottom-up fundamental research conducted by the Investment Manager&#8217;s small cap, mid cap and global research analysts.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in equity securities of larger US companies and may invest up to 10% of its total assets in equity securities of non-US companies, including ADRs and GDRs.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>9028148810841233846651466~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20024 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010269Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00750.00750.00000.00250.00130.00210.00880.0121~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20022 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010269Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20023 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010269Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 92% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.92Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Small-Mid Cap Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.38920.15280.04310.1711-0.0638-0.34460.55470.2367-0.09830.1545~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20025 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010269Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028371Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.28302009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.26022011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>28.30%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>-26.02%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. 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The Investment Manager focuses on companies with a minimum market capitalization of $250 million that own physical infrastructure and which the Investment Manager believes are undervalued.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of infrastructure companies, which consist of utilities, pipelines, toll roads, airports, railroads, ports, telecommunications and other infrastructure companies, with securities listed on a national or other recognized securities exchange.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests significantly (at least 40%&#8212;unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Investment Manager, in which case the Portfolio would invest at least 30%) in infrastructure companies organized or located outside the US or doing a substantial amount of business outside the US. The Investment Manager allocates the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries). The Portfolio may invest in equity securities of companies with some business activities located in emerging market countries.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager generally seeks to substantially hedge foreign currency exposure in the Portfolio back to the US dollar by entering into foreign currency forward contracts, although the Portfolio&#8217;s total foreign currency exposure may not be fully hedged at all times.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>11636262813861534748181791~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20031 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000027245Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00900.00900.00000.00250.00240.00350.01140.0150~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20029 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000027245Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20030 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000027245Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks total return.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Infrastructure Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Securities and instruments of infrastructure companies are more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting their industries. 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Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Hedging Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager may not be able to accurately predict movements in exchange rates and there may be imperfect correlations between movements in exchange rates that could cause the Portfolio to incur significant losses. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Forward Currency Contract Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Forward currency contracts may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty to the contracts and can be illiquid. These contracts are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related currency. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of forward currency contracts, even when entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.26Performance Bar Chart and Table Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.0663-0.01550.1805~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20032 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000027245Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000082231Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.12172010-09-30Worst Quarter:-0.09852011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b><br/> Best Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/10 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>12.17%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-9.85%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.18050.07400.17620.06960.13330.06500.17540.06990.12380.05100.15830.06932009-12-312009-12-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20033 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000027245Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of broad measures of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard International Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of relatively large non-US companies with market capitalizations in the range of companies included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (&#8220;MSCI</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8221;) Europe, Australasia and Far East (&#8220;EAFE</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8221;) Index (ranging from approximately $498.5&#160;million to $232.6&#160;billion as of April&#160;9, 2013) that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">In choosing stocks for the Portfolio, the Investment Manager looks for established companies in economically developed countries and may invest up to 15% of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets in securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>10432556312481344187231590~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20038 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010271Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00750.00750.00000.00250.00270.00320.01020.0132~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20036 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010271Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20037 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010271Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 48% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.48Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.29510.16010.11250.22920.1096-0.37750.25190.0804-0.07170.2270~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20039 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010271Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028375Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.21902009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.17772011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>21.90%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-17.77%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.2270-0.00830.08140.06110.2226-0.01010.07810.05200.1578-0.00580.07260.05040.2230-0.01140.07820.04670.1732-0.03690.08210.05100.1732-0.03690.08210.04451991-10-291997-01-23~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20040 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010271Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard International Equity Select PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, including ADRs, GDRs and common stocks, of relatively large non-US companies with market capitalizations in the range of companies included in the MSCI EAFE Index (ranging from approximately $498.5&#160;million to $232.6&#160;billion as of April&#160;9, 2013) that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">In choosing stocks for the Portfolio, the Investment Manager looks for established companies in economically developed countries. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries in an amount up to the current emerging markets component of the MSCI All Country World Index ex-US plus 15%. The allocation of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets to emerging market countries may vary from time to time.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>11736563313981484597921735~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20045 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010272Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00850.00850.00000.00250.03320.03670.04170.0477-0.0302-0.03320.01150.0145~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20043 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010272Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20044 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010272Member row primary compact * ~2023-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Although the Portfolio is classified as &#8220;diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios. The Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 46% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.46Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Equity Select Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.29800.16450.08900.23010.0925-0.38740.20860.0849-0.07140.2159~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20046 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010272Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028377Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.18732009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.17572011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>18.73%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-17.57%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The MSCI EAFE/All Country World Index ex-US Linked Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, which links the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index for all periods through June 30, 2010 (when the Portfolio&#8217;s benchmark index changed) and the MSCI All Country World Index ex-US for all periods thereafter.</font> </p> 0.2159-0.01940.07210.04010.2128-0.02420.06500.03380.1481-0.01580.06530.03610.2123-0.02230.06900.03730.1683-0.02890.09740.05800.1683-0.03990.08040.04182001-05-312001-05-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20047 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010272Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Equity Select Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.The MSCI EAFE/All Country World Index ex-US Linked Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, which links the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index for all periods through June 30, 2010 (when the Portfolio's benchmark index changed) and the MSCI All Country World Index ex-US for all periods thereafter.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard International Strategic Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of non-US companies whose principal activities are located in countries represented by the MSCI EAFE Index that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its assets in securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries, although the allocation of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets to emerging market countries may vary from time to time.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The countries represented by the MSCI EAFE Index currently include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>8827447710611153596221375~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20052 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010273Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00750.00750.00000.00250.00110.00130.00860.0113~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20050 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010273Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20051 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010273Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Although the Portfolio is classified as &#8220;diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios. The Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Larger Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities of large market cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.52Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Strategic Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated&#160;performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.26220.1288-0.39980.27760.1443-0.09700.2500~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20053 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010273Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028379Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.23212009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.19362011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>23.21%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-19.36%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.2500-0.00190.06040.2491-0.00320.05520.1658-0.00090.05250.2474-0.00490.03790.1732-0.03690.03140.1732-0.03690.01342006-02-032005-10-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20054 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010273Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Strategic Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard International Small Cap Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of relatively small non-US companies that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. The Investment Manager considers &#8220;small non-US companies&#8221; to be those non-US companies with market capitalizations, at the time of initial purchase by the Portfolio, below $5 billion or in the range of the smallest 10% of companies included in the MSCI EAFE Index (based on market capitalization of the Index as a whole, which ranged from approximately $498.5&#160;million to $232.6&#160;billion as of April&#160;9, 2013).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">In choosing stocks for the Portfolio, the Investment Manager looks for smaller, well-managed non-US companies that the Investment Manager believes have the potential for growth. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of small cap companies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its assets in securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries, although the allocation of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets to emerging market countries may vary from time to time.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>11537064414271464638031764~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20059 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010263Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00750.00750.00000.00250.00430.00480.01180.0148-0.0005-0.00050.01130.0143~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20057 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010263Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20058 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010263Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 48% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.48Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Small Cap Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.42210.32280.14770.2631-0.0461-0.49840.39170.2355-0.14110.2228~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20060 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010263Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028359Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.31532009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.27072008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>31.53%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-27.07%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.2228-0.01960.08950.06590.2195-0.02290.07340.05390.1535-0.01600.08030.05710.2196-0.02230.08650.06040.2000-0.00870.11930.04760.2000-0.00870.11930.04991993-12-011997-02-13~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20061 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010263Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Small Cap Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Emerging Markets Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of non-US companies whose principal activities are located in emerging market countries and that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries include all countries represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index, which currently includes: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>11235060613401434437661680~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20066 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010264Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.01000.01000.00000.00250.00100.00150.01100.0140~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20064 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010264Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20065 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010264Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 23% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.23Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.54450.30790.41400.30320.3305-0.47880.69820.2281-0.17750.2236~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20067 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010264Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028361Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.34122009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.30502008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>34.12%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-30.50%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.22360.01810.18410.08550.21810.00960.17130.07610.16060.01370.16430.07340.22030.01460.18090.08570.1822-0.00920.16520.06540.1822-0.00920.16520.07471994-07-151997-01-08~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20068 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010264Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Developing Markets Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of non-US companies whose principal activities are located in emerging market countries (also known as &#8220;developing markets&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries include all countries represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which currently includes: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager employs a relative growth investment philosophy that is based on value creation through the process of bottom-up stock selection. The Investment Manager&#8217;s approach consists of an analytical framework, accounting validation, fundamental analysis and portfolio construction parameters. The Investment Manager&#8217;s selection process focuses on growth and considers the sustainability of growth and the trade off between valuation and growth.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>12338466514661564838341824~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20073 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000023480Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.01000.01000.00000.00250.00210.00280.01210.0153~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20071 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000023480Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20072 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000023480Member row primary compact * ~Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Growth Investing Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to have the potential for growth, but that may not realize such perceived potential for extended periods of time or may never realize such perceived growth potential. Such stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they can be more sensitive to investor perceptions of the issuing company&#8217;s growth potential. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 61% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.61Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Developing Markets Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>1.08530.2862-0.26150.1716~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20074 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000023480Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000069022Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.56642009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.28532011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>56.64%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-28.53%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.17160.10330.17130.08890.11480.08280.16790.10020.18220.09692008-09-302008-09-30~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20075 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000023480Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Developing Markets Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Blend PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, including common stocks, ADRs and GDRs, of non-US companies whose principal activities are located in emerging market countries.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries include all countries represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which currently includes: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager allocates the Portfolio&#8217;s assets between versions of the Investment Manager&#8217;s emerging markets relative value and relative growth investment strategies. In the emerging markets relative value strategy, assets are invested in companies that the Investment Manager believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. In the emerging markets relative growth strategy, the Investment Manager employs a relative growth investment philosophy that is based on value creation through the process of bottom-up stock selection. The Investment Manager&#8217;s approach consists of an analytical framework, accounting validation, fundamental analysis and portfolio construction parameters. The Investment Manager&#8217;s selection process focuses on growth and considers the sustainability of growth and the trade off between valuation and growth. A premium may be paid for higher, sustainable growth. The Portfolio may invest in companies of any size or market capitalization.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager currently intends to maintain an allocation of approximately 40%-60% of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets in each strategy, but the allocation ranges could change in the future without prior notice to shareholders. The Investment Manager will make allocation decisions between the strategies based on quantitative and qualitative analysis through proprietary software models. Quantitative analysis includes, among others, statistical analysis of portfolio risks, factor dependencies and trading tendencies. Qualitative analysis includes, among others, analysis of the global economic environment as well as internal and external research on individual securities, portfolio holdings, attribution factors, behavioral patterns and overall market views and scenarios. The Investment Manager will periodically review the allocation of Portfolio assets between the strategies and modify the relative weightings to emphasize risk or to seek to mitigate risk exposures.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>13242173016091635419432070~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20080 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000028828Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.01000.01000.00000.00250.00340.00520.01340.0177-0.0004-0.00170.01300.0160~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20078 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000028828Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20079 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000028828Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing and Growth Investing Risks.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The Portfolio also invests a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to have the potential for growth, but that may not realize such perceived potential for extended periods of time or may never realize such perceived growth potential. Such stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they can be more sensitive to investor perceptions of the issuing company&#8217;s growth potential. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Allocation Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s ability to achieve its investment objective depends in part on the Investment Manager&#8217;s skill in determining the Portfolio&#8217;s allocation between the investment strategies. The Investment Manager&#8217;s evaluations and assumptions underlying its allocation decisions may differ from actual market conditions.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 57% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.57Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Blend Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>-0.20430.1819~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20081 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000028828Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000088404Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.17592012-03-31Worst Quarter:-0.24352011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b><br/> Best Quarter:</b><br/> 3/31/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>17.59%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-24.35%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.18190.06320.18190.06200.12210.05430.17970.06020.18220.07752010-05-282010-05-28~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20082 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000028828Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Blend Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Emerging Markets Multi-Strategy PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager allocates the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among various emerging markets equity, debt and currency investment strategies managed by the Investment Manager in proportions consistent with the Investment Manager&#8217;s evaluation of various economic and other factors through quantitative and qualitative analysis. These proportions are changed from time to time, and at any given time the allocation to one strategy (other than currency investments) may comprise a substantial percentage of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets. The Investment Manager will make allocation decisions among the strategies based on quantitative and qualitative analysis using a number of different tools, including proprietary software models. Quantitative analysis includes, among others, statistical analysis of portfolio risks, factor dependencies and trading tendencies. Qualitative analysis includes, among others, analysis of the global economic environment as well as internal and external research on individual securities, portfolio holdings, attribution factors, behavioral patterns and overall market views and scenarios.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in:</font> </p> <br/><table style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0pc; FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 8pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> <p style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"> &#160; </p> </td> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">equity securities, including common stocks and depositary receipts and shares</font> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">debt securities issued or guaranteed by governments, government agencies or supranational bodies or companies or other private-sector entities, including fixed and/or floating rate investment grade and non-investment grade bonds (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;), convertible securities, commercial paper, collateralized debt obligations, short- and medium-term obligations and other fixed-income obligations</font> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">emerging markets currencies and related instruments (primarily forward currency contracts) and structured notes</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The securities in which the Portfolio invests may be denominated in the US dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen, the Pound Sterling, or the local currency of the issuer. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in securities and other investments that are economically tied to emerging market countries. Emerging market countries include all countries not represented by the MSCI World Index. The Portfolio currently intends to focus its investments in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the developing countries of Europe, although the allocation of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among countries and regions may vary from time to time based on the Investment Manager&#8217;s judgment and its analysis of market conditions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in securities of any size or market capitalization. The Portfolio is not limited to securities of any particular quality or investment grade and, as a result, the Portfolio may invest significantly in securities rated below investment grade (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;) or securities that are unrated. Additionally, the Portfolio is not restricted to investments in debt securities of any particular maturity or duration.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s currency strategy uses forward currency contracts, options on currencies and structured notes, although the Portfolio may not allocate assets to the currency strategy at all times, and there may be no allocation to currency investments for significant periods of time. The Portfolio also may, but is not required to, enter into forward foreign currency contracts, purchase options on currencies and enter into currency swaps to hedge the foreign currency exposure associated with equity or debt investment strategies. The Portfolio also may purchase options on securities, including exchange-traded funds (&#8220;ETFs&#8221;), and enter into credit default swaps and other types of swaps, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>13241271315681635058711900~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20087 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031729Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.01000.01000.00000.00250.00570.02570.01570.0382-0.0027-0.02220.01300.0160~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20085 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031729Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20086 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031729Member row primary compact * ~2023-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks total return from current income and capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Allocation Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s ability to achieve its investment objective depends in part on the Investment Manager&#8217;s skill in determining the Portfolio&#8217;s allocation among the investment strategies. The Investment Manager&#8217;s evaluations and assumptions underlying its allocation decisions may differ from actual market conditions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing and Growth Investing Risks.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The Portfolio also may invest a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to have the potential for growth, but that may not realize such perceived potential for extended periods of time or may never realize such perceived growth potential. Such stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they can be more sensitive to investor perceptions of the issuing company&#8217;s growth potential. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income and Debt Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. Non-investment grade securities tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a debt security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Some debt securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of declining interest rates, the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio may not benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Structured notes are privately negotiated debt instruments where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to a specified asset, market or rate, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. Structured notes can have risks of both debt securities and derivatives transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Liquidity Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The lack of a readily available market may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. The size of certain securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than offerings in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Hedging Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager may not be able to accurately predict movements in exchange rates and there may be imperfect correlations between movements in exchange rates that could cause the Portfolio to incur significant losses. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on securities (including options on ETFs) and currencies, structured notes and swap agreements are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related currency, security or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>High Portfolio Turnover Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio&#8217;s shareholders.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 160% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>1.60Performance Bar Chart and Table Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Multi-Strategy Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.1402~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20088 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031729Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000098749Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.12142012-03-31Worst Quarter:-0.05622012-06-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 3/31/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>12.14%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-5.62%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.1402-0.00970.1394-0.01070.0932-0.00820.1328-0.01260.1822-0.03182011-03-312011-03-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20089 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031729Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Multi-Strategy Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Emerging Markets Debt PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in debt securities issued or guaranteed by governments, government agencies or supranational bodies or companies or other private-sector entities, including fixed and/or floating rate investment grade and non-investment grade bonds, convertible securities, commercial paper, collateralized debt obligations, short- and medium-term obligations and other fixed-income obligations, and may invest in money market instruments such as certificates of deposit. The securities in which the Portfolio invests may be denominated in the US dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen, the Pound Sterling, or the local currency of the issuer.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in debt securities that are economically tied to emerging market countries. Emerging market countries include all countries not represented by the MSCI World Index. The Portfolio currently intends to focus its investments in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the developing countries of Europe, although the allocation of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among countries and regions may vary from time to time based on the Investment Manager&#8217;s judgment and its analysis of market conditions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio is not limited to securities of any particular quality or investment grade and, as a result, the Portfolio may invest significantly in securities rated below investment grade (lower than Baa by Moody&#8217;s Investors Service, Inc. (&#8220;Moody&#8217;s&#8221;) or lower than BBB by Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s Ratings Group (&#8220;S&amp;P&#8221;)) (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;) or securities that are unrated. Additionally, the Portfolio is not restricted to investments in securities of any particular maturity or duration.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio is classified as &#8220;non-diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio generally will not purchase equity securities; however, the Portfolio may from time to time acquire and hold equity securities as a result of exercising a convertible debt security or holding a convertible debt security to maturity or in connection with the reorganization or bankruptcy of an issuer of a debt security held by the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may, but is not required to, purchase options on ETFs and currencies and enter into forward currency contracts and credit default swaps, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>10232556612571324337561671~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20094 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031123Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00800.00800.00000.00250.00230.01920.01030.0297-0.0003-0.01670.01000.0130~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20092 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031123Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20093 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031123Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks total return from current income and capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income and Debt Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. Non-investment grade securities tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a debt security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Some debt securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity. If securities held by the Portfolio are called during a time of declining interest rates (which is typically the case when issuers exercise options to call outstanding securities), the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio may not fully benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Liquidity Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The lack of a readily available market may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. The size of certain debt securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than debt offerings in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on securities (including options on ETFs) and currencies, and swap agreements are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related currency, security or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>High Portfolio Turnover Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio&#8217;s shareholders.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio's NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio's investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 220% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>2.20Performance Bar Chart and Table Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The bar chart shows the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.1895~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20095 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031123Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000096531Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.07522012-03-31Worst Quarter:-0.00012012-06-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 3/31/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>7.52%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-0.01%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.18950.10860.16180.08610.12230.07920.18680.10540.17440.13660.16760.07820.17210.10812011-02-282011-02-28~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20096 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031123Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of broad measures of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Realty Income PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in dividend-paying common and preferred stocks, convertible securities and fixed income securities of US Realty Companies (defined below), as well as certain synthetic instruments related to US Realty Companies. Such synthetic instruments are investments that have economic characteristics similar to the Portfolio&#8217;s direct investments in US Realty Companies and may include warrants, rights, options and shares of ETFs.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager focuses on investments having the potential to deliver regular income and to offer the opportunity for long-term growth and capital appreciation. The Investment Manager conducts proprietary quantitative, qualitative and on-site real estate analysis to select the Portfolio&#8217;s investments, which may include, as appropriate, research at the macroeconomic, sector, company and property level. The Investment Manager&#8217;s individual company research may consider a number of quantitative measures, including earnings growth potential, price to earnings or free cash flow multiples, price to NAV ratios, dividend yield and potential for growth, return on equity and return on assets, as well as qualitative factors such as overall business and growth strategy and quality of management.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8220;Realty Companies&#8221; are real estate-related companies of any size including, but not limited to, real estate investment trusts (&#8220;REITs&#8221;), real estate operating or service companies and companies in the homebuilding, lodging and hotel industries, as well as companies engaged in the healthcare, gaming, retailing, restaurant, natural resources and utility industries, and other companies whose investments, balance sheets or income statements are real-estate intensive (<i>i.e.</i>, the company&#8217;s actual or anticipated revenues, profits, assets, services or products are related to real estate including, but not limited to, the ownership, renting, leasing, construction, management, development or financing of commercial, industrial or residential real estate).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in preferred stock and convertible and fixed income securities may include securities which, at the time of purchase, are rated below &#8220;investment grade&#8221; by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (&#8220;NRSRO&#8221;), or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in issuers of any market capitalization and securities of any maturity, and the Portfolio&#8217;s investments also may include securities purchased in initial public offerings (&#8220;IPOs&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio also may invest up to 25% of its net assets in companies organized as master limited partnerships and their affiliates.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio also may invest up to 20% of its assets in other securities and instruments of companies or entities (which need not be US Realty Companies), including, but not limited to, securities of non-US companies and other investment companies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may, but is not required to, write put and covered call options on securities and indexes, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. 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The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher-rated investments. If there is a decline in the credit quality of a fixed-income security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), or a perception of a decline, the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price. Junk bonds tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. During unusual market conditions, the Portfolio may not be able to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. 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As such, a small commitment to written options could potentially have a relatively large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Purchasing options will reduce returns by the amount of premiums paid for options that are not exercised. Over-the-counter options purchased on securities and indexes are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Investment Companies and ETF Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Any investments in other investment companies and ETFs are subject to the risks of the investments of the investment companies and ETFs, as well as to the general risks of investing in investment companies and ETFs. 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During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 42% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.42Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Open Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Realty Income Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The Portfolio commenced operations after all of the assets of an investment company advised by Grubb &amp; Ellis Alesco Global Advisors, LLC (&#8220;Alesco&#8221;), Grubb &amp; Ellis AGA Realty Income Fund (the &#8220;Predecessor Realty Income Fund&#8221;), were transferred to the Portfolio in exchange for Open Shares of the Portfolio in a tax-free reorganization on September 23, 2011. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Open Shares (or the Predecessor Realty Income Fund&#8217;s Class A shares, prior to September 23, 2011) has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.71580.3315-0.00160.2300~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20102 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033722Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000103952Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.40102009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.13672009-03-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.92pc"></font>40.10%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 3/31/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-13.67%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares will vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The 50% FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index/50% Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities REIT</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 70%; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top">&#174;</font></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, and is a 50/50 blend of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index and the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities REIT Index. In future periods the Portfolio will no longer compare its performance to that of the S&amp;P 500 Index, because the other indicies shown are believed to provide more appropriate comparisons for the Portfolio&#8217;s performance.</font> </p> 0.23000.13950.20140.09420.14930.09660.23320.26990.19700.05770.19700.27380.11380.15650.11380.12390.15610.11730.15610.19980.16000.04740.16000.22362008-07-302011-09-26~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20103 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033722Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Realty Income Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of broad measures of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.The 50% FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index/50% Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities REIT Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, and is a 50/50 blend of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index and the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities REIT Index. (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)In future periods the Portfolio will no longer compare its performance to that of the S&P 500 Index, because the other indicies shown are believed to provide more appropriate comparisons for the Portfolio's performance.(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Realty Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities (including common, convertible and preferred stocks) of US Realty Companies (defined below), as well as certain synthetic instruments related to US Realty Companies. Such synthetic instruments are investments that have economic characteristics similar to the Portfolio&#8217;s direct investments in US Realty Companies and may include warrants, rights, options and shares of ETFs.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager conducts proprietary quantitative, qualitative and on-site real estate analysis to select the Portfolio&#8217;s investments, which may include, as appropriate, research at the macroeconomic, sector, company and property level. The Investment Manager&#8217;s individual company research may consider a number of quantitative measures, including earnings growth potential, price to earnings or free cash flow multiples, price to NAV ratios, dividend yield and potential for growth, return on equity and return on assets, as well as qualitative factors such as overall business and growth strategy and quality of management.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8220;Realty Companies&#8221; are real estate-related companies of any size including, but not limited to, REITs, real estate operating or service companies and companies in the homebuilding, lodging and hotel industries, as well as companies engaged in the healthcare, gaming, retailing, restaurant, natural resources and utility industries, and other companies whose investments, balance sheets or income statements are real-estate intensive (<i>i.e.</i> the company&#8217;s actual or anticipated revenues, profits, assets, services or products are related to real estate including, but not limited to, the ownership, renting, leasing, construction, management, development or financing of commercial, industrial or residential real estate).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in issuers of any market capitalization and securities of any maturity, and the Portfolio&#8217;s investments also may include securities purchased in IPOs.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio is classified as &#8220;non-diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio also may invest up to 20% of its assets in equity and fixed income securities and instruments of companies or entities (which need not be US Realty Companies), including, but not limited to, securities of non-US companies and other investment companies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in preferred stock and convertible and fixed income securities may include securities which, at the time of purchase, are rated below &#8220;investment grade&#8221; by an NRSRO, or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may, but is not required to, write put and covered call options on securities and indexes, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>12238166014551534748181791~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20108 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033724Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00800.00800.00000.00250.01540.00730.02340.0178-0.0114-0.00280.01200.0150~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20106 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033724Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20107 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033724Member row primary compact * ~2023-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objectives<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s primary investment objective is long-term capital appreciation,</font></p><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">with current income, including interest and dividends from portfolio securities, as a secondary objective.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Securities Risks.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While stocks have historically been a leading choice of long-term investors, they do fluctuate in price, often based on factors unrelated to the issuer&#8217;s value, such as investor perception. Preferred stock is subject to credit and interest rate risk (described below) and the risk that the dividend on the stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer and, unlike common stock, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. The market value of a convertible security tends to perform like that of a regular debt security so that, if market interest rates rise, the value of the convertible security falls. Investments in warrants involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for resale, price fluctuations and the failure of the price of the underlying security to reach a level at which the warrant can be prudently exercised, in which case the warrant may expire without being exercised and result in a loss of the Portfolio&#8217;s entire investment.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Realty Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Since the Portfolio focuses its investments in Realty Companies, the Portfolio could lose money due to the performance of real estate-related securities even if securities markets generally are experiencing positive results. The performance of investments made by the Portfolio may be determined to a great extent by the current status of the real estate industry in general, or by other factors (such as interest rates and the availability of loan capital) that may affect the real estate industry, even if other industries would not be so affected. Consequently, the investment strategies of the Portfolio could lead to securities investment results that may be significantly different from investments in securities of other industries or sectors or in a more broad-based portfolio generally.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The risks related to investments in Realty Companies include, but are not limited to: adverse changes in general economic and local market conditions; adverse developments in employment; changes in supply or demand for similar or competing properties; unfavorable changes in applicable taxes, governmental regulations and interest rates; operating or development expenses; and lack of available financing. An investment in REITs may be adversely affected or lost if the REIT fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If the Portfolio invests in a REIT that subsequently fails to qualify as a REIT under the Code, it is highly likely that the REIT will be subject to a substantial additional income tax liability that could cause it to liquidate investments, borrow funds under adverse conditions or, possibly, fail.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Many Realty Companies are small and mid cap companies, which carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The securities of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk, the risk that securities will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates, is usually greater for fixed income securities with longer maturities or effective durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher-rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a fixed income security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price. Junk bonds tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. During unusual market conditions, the Portfolio may not be able to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. Some fixed-income securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of lower or declining interest rates, the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities (and the Portfolio may not benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Options Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Writing options on securities and indexes, including for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially, and may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions. Writing options is subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related security or index. As such, a small commitment to written options could potentially have a relatively large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Purchasing options will reduce returns by the amount of premiums paid for options that are not exercised. Over-the-counter options purchased on securities and indexes are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Investment Companies and ETF Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Any investments in other investment companies and ETFs are subject to the risks of the investments of the investment companies and ETFs, as well as to the general risks of investing in investment companies and ETFs. Portfolio shares will bear not only the Portfolio&#8217;s management fees and operating expenses, but also their proportional share of the management fees and operating expenses of any other investment companies and ETFs in which the Portfolio invests.</font> </p>Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio's NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio's investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.52Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Open Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Realty Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The Portfolio commenced operations after all of the assets of an investment company advised by Alesco, Grubb &amp; Ellis AGA U.S. Realty Fund (the &#8220;Predecessor Realty Equity Fund&#8221;), were transferred to the Portfolio in exchange for Open Shares of the Portfolio in a tax-free reorganization on September 23, 2011. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Open Shares (or the Predecessor Realty Equity Fund&#8217;s Class A shares, prior to September 23, 2011) has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.59470.35550.09910.2058~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20109 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033724Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000103954Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.36292009-09-30Worst Quarter:-0.17992011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1.25pc"></font>36.29%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>-17.99%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares will vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.20580.30080.19430.25690.13500.24080.20830.34880.19700.20700.19700.27382011-09-262008-12-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20110 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033724Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Realty Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard International Realty Equity PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities (including common, convertible and preferred stocks) of non-US Realty Companies (defined below), as well as certain synthetic instruments relating to non-US Realty Companies. Such synthetic instruments are investments that have economic characteristics similar to the Portfolio&#8217;s direct investments in non-US Realty Companies and may include depositary receipts, including ADRs, GDRs and European Depositary Receipts, warrants, rights, options and shares of ETFs. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in non-US companies may include securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager conducts proprietary quantitative, qualitative and on-site real estate analysis to select the Portfolio&#8217;s investments, which may include, as appropriate, research at the macroeconomic, sector, company and property level. The Investment Manager&#8217;s individual company research may consider a number of quantitative measures, including earnings growth potential, price to earnings or free cash flow multiples, price to NAV ratios, dividend yield and potential for growth, return on equity and return on assets, as well as qualitative factors such as overall business and growth strategy and quality of management.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8220;Realty Companies&#8221; are real estate-related companies of any size including, but not limited to, REITs, real estate operating or service companies and companies in the homebuilding, lodging and hotel industries, as well as companies engaged in the healthcare, gaming, retailing, restaurant, natural resources and utility industries, and other companies whose investments, balance sheets or income statements are real-estate intensive (<i>i.e.,</i> the company&#8217;s actual or anticipated revenues, profits, assets, services or products are related to real estate including, but not limited to, the ownership, renting, leasing, construction, management, development or financing of commercial, industrial or residential real estate).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest in issuers of any market capitalization and securities of any maturity, and the Portfolio&#8217;s investments also may include securities purchased in IPOs.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio is classified as &#8220;non-diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio also may invest up to 20% of its assets in equity and fixed income securities and instruments of companies or entities (which need not be non-US Realty Companies), including, but not limited to, other investment companies and collective investment funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in preferred stock and convertible and fixed income securities may include securities which, at the time of purchase, are rated below &#8220;investment grade&#8221; by an NRSRO, or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may, but is not required to, enter into forward currency contracts and write put and covered call options on securities and indexes, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>1324121704483916350518455065~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20115 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033726Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00900.00900.00000.00250.04940.04980.05840.0613-0.0454-0.04530.01300.0160~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20113 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033726Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20114 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033726Member row primary compact * ~2016-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objectives<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s primary investment objective is long-term capital appreciation,</font></p><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">with current income, including interest and dividends from portfolio securities, as a secondary objective.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Equity Securities Risks.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While stocks have historically been a leading choice of long-term investors, they do fluctuate in price, often based on factors unrelated to the issuer&#8217;s value, such as investor perception. Preferred stock is subject to credit and interest rate risk (described below) and the risk that the dividend on the stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer and, unlike common stock, participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited. The market value of a convertible security tends to perform like that of a regular debt security so that, if market interest rates rise, the value of the convertible security falls. Investments in warrants involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for resale, price fluctuations and the failure of the price of the underlying security to reach a level at which the warrant can be prudently exercised, in which case the warrant may expire without being exercised and result in a loss of the Portfolio&#8217;s entire investment.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Realty Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Since the Portfolio focuses its investments in Realty Companies, the Portfolio could lose money due to the performance of real estate-related securities even if securities markets generally are experiencing positive results. The performance of investments made by the Portfolio may be determined to a great extent by the current status of the real estate industry in general, or by other factors (such as interest rates and the availability of loan capital) that may affect the real estate industry, even if other industries would not be so affected. Consequently, the investment strategies of the Portfolio could lead to securities investment results that may be significantly different from investments in securities of other industries or sectors or in a more broad-based portfolio generally.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The risks related to investments in Realty Companies include, but are not limited to: adverse changes in general economic and local market conditions; adverse developments in employment; changes in supply or demand for similar or competing properties; unfavorable changes in applicable taxes, governmental regulations and interest rates; operating or development expenses; and lack of available financing. An investment in REITs may be adversely affected or lost if the REIT fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If the Portfolio invests in a REIT that subsequently fails to qualify as a REIT under the Code, it is highly likely that the REIT will be subject to a substantial additional income tax liability that could cause it to liquidate investments, borrow funds under adverse conditions or, possibly, fail.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Many Realty Companies are small and mid cap companies, which carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The securities of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk, the risk that securities will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates, is usually greater for fixed income securities with longer maturities or effective durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher-rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a fixed-income security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price. Junk bonds tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. During unusual market conditions, the Portfolio may not be able to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. Some fixed-income securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of lower or declining interest rates, the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities (and the Portfolio may not benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts and over-the-counter options on securities and indexes are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivative transactions as well as exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related security or currency. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Purchasing options will reduce returns by the amount of premiums paid for options that are not exercised. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Investment Companies and ETF Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Any investments in other investment companies, collective investment funds and ETFs are subject to the risks of the investments of the investment companies, collective investment funds and ETFs, as well as to the general risks of investing in investment companies, collective investment funds and ETFs. Portfolio shares will bear not only the Portfolio&#8217;s management fees and operating expenses, but also their proportional share of the management fees and operating expenses of the other investment companies, collective investment funds and ETFs in which the Portfolio invests.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio's NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio's investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 42% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.42Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Open Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Realty Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The Portfolio commenced operations after all of the assets of an investment company advised by Alesco, Grubb &amp; Ellis AGA International Realty Fund (the &#8220;Predecessor International Realty Fund&#8221;), were transferred to the Portfolio in exchange for Open Shares of the Portfolio in a tax-free reorganization on September 23, 2011. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Open Shares (or the Predecessor International Realty Fund&#8217;s Class A shares, prior to September 23, 2011) has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.89060.1146-0.20350.4481~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20116 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033726Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000103956Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.31312009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.22482011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b><br/> Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>31.31%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>-22.48%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares will vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.44810.24840.43160.21910.29330.20350.45140.34340.38980.18580.38980.31122011-09-262008-12-31~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20117 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000033726Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard International Realty Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. High Yield PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in high-yielding US corporate fixed-income securities which, at the time of purchase, are rated below investment grade (lower than Baa by Moody&#8217;s or lower than BBB by S&amp;P (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;)). The Portfolio may invest in securities of non-US companies, including, to a limited extent, in companies in, or governments of, emerging market countries.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds and other fixed-income securities of US companies rated, at the time of purchase, below investment grade by S&amp;P or Moody&#8217;s and as low as the lowest rating assigned by S&amp;P or Moody&#8217;s, or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager. The Portfolio focuses its investments in high-yielding securities that may be considered &#8220;better quality&#8221; (B+ or higher by Moody&#8217;s or S&amp;P or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager). Although the Portfolio may invest in fixed-income securities without regard to their maturity, the Portfolio&#8217;s average weighted maturity is expected to range between two and ten years.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Securities are evaluated based on their fundamental and structural characteristics. Valuation analysis is tailored to the specific asset class, but may include credit research, prepayment or call options, maturity, duration, coupon, currency and country risks. The Portfolio is constructed using a bottom-up discipline in which the Investment Manager follows a systematic process to seek out undervalued opportunities within each sector.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>56211379867873556431466~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20122 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010265Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00550.00550.00000.00250.00160.00440.00710.0124-0.0016-0.00390.00550.0085~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20120 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010265Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20121 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010265Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks maximum total return from a combination of capital appreciation and current income.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk, the risk that securities will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates, is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or effective durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding bonds are subject to greater credit risk than its higher-rated investments. Junk bonds tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Other risk factors could have an effect on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance, including:</font> </p> <br/><table style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0pc; FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 8pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> <p style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"> &#160; </p> </td> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">if an issuer fails to make timely interest or principal payments</font> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">if there is a decline in the credit quality of a bond, or a perceived decline, in the credit quality of a fixed-income security (or any guarantor of payment on such security) the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price</font> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 4pt"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0pt"> &#160; </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td align="right"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">&#8226;</font> </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.2mm"></font>&#160; </p> </td> <td width="3"> &#160; </td> <td colspan="17"> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">during unusual market conditions, the Portfolio may not be able to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.26Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US High Yield Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year over the past 10 calendar years. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.24580.09880.04330.09710.0363-0.20240.34660.11780.05170.1202~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20123 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010265Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000028363Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.13082009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.15962008-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 1pc"></font>13.08%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/08 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-15.96%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.12020.07180.08670.04260.09450.04420.05790.00910.07740.04440.05730.01410.11890.06910.08390.03690.15580.10010.10390.07000.15580.10010.10390.06911998-01-021998-02-24~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20124 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000010265Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US High Yield Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard U.S. Municipal PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in US municipal securities, the interest on which is, in the opinion of the issuer&#8217;s counsel at the time of issuance, exempt from regular federal income tax. At times, a portion of the Portfolio&#8217;s assets exempt from regular income tax may be invested in securities subject to the alternative minimum tax (the &#8220;AMT&#8221;).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in securities that are rated investment grade by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, or, if unrated, determined by the Investment Manager to be of comparable quality.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Although the Portfolio may invest in fixed-income securities without regard to their maturity or duration, the Portfolio&#8217;s average weighted effective duration is expected to range between two and seven years.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio also may invest in other securities that are not municipal securities. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments may include any type of debt instrument, including, for example, zero-coupon securities as well as floating- and variable-rate securities.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Securities are evaluated based on their fundamental and structural characteristics. Valuation analysis is tailored to the specific asset class, but may include credit research, prepayment or call options, maturity, duration and coupon or other features.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>41347675160372560780849821~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20129 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031124Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00250.00250.00000.00250.01160.37610.01410.3811-0.0101-0.37410.00400.0070~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20127 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031124Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20128 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031124Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks current income exempt from regular federal income taxes, consistent with preservation of capital.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or effective durations.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Municipal Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">A primary risk of municipal securities, like other fixed-income securities, is credit risk, which is the risk that the issuer will not make timely interest or principal payments. Payment by the issuer may depend on a relatively limited source of revenue, resulting in greater credit risk.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The values of municipal securities can fluctuate and may be affected by adverse tax law, legislative or political changes, and by financial or other developments affecting municipal issuers and the municipal securities market generally. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a municipal security (or institutions providing credit and liquidity enhancements), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Some municipal securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of declining interest rates, the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio may not benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Future changes in the activity of an issuer may adversely affect the tax-exempt status of municipal securities. If a municipal security fails to meet certain regulatory requirements to maintain its exempt tax status, the interest received by the Portfolio from its investment in such security, and the related distributions to Portfolio shareholders, will be taxable.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The size of certain municipal securities offerings may be relatively smaller in size than other debt offerings and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Liquidity Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The lack of a readily available market or restrictions on resale may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell a security at the time and price it would like.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 77% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.77Performance Bar Chart and Table Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Municipal Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.0254~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20130 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031124Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000096533Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.01222012-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.00022012-12-31<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>1.22%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 12/31/12 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc"></font>-0.02%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.</font> </p> 0.02540.03810.01930.03100.01660.02860.02240.03490.02980.04922011-02-282011-02-28~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20131 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000031124Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Municipal Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.Lazard Global Fixed Income PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in Fixed Income Investments. &#8220;Fixed Income Investments&#8221; include all types of debt and income producing securities and other instruments, including bonds, notes (including structured notes), mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, Eurodollar and Yankee dollar instruments, money market instruments and foreign currency forward contracts, including non-deliverable forward contracts. Fixed Income Investments may be issued by US or foreign corporations or entities, including those with business activities located in emerging market countries; US or foreign banks; the US government, its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises; US state and municipal governments; foreign governments and their political subdivisions; and supranational organizations (such as the World Bank). Fixed Income Investments may have any type of interest rate payment terms, including fixed rate, adjustable rate or zero coupon features.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">In managing the Portfolio&#8217;s assets, the Investment Manager employs a relative value approach that is driven by its macroeconomic view of global interest rates, yield curves, sector spreads, and currencies, combined with an opportunistic, but disciplined, security selection process. The Investment Manager seeks to enhance the Portfolio&#8217;s total return by rotating investments through global bond and credit markets, maintaining or seeking exposure to foreign currencies in the discretion of the Investment Manager. The Investment Manager seeks to identify and exploit market inefficiencies (such as spread relationships between sectors in different countries, and undervalued or overlooked markets and securities) in seeking to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns. The Investment Manager also seeks to identify investment opportunities with asymmetric risk/reward characteristics in seeking to enhance portfolio performance and mitigate risk.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s currency exposure generally is managed relative to that of the Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond Index&#8212;Unhedged in US dollar terms, and tactical exposures to non-US dollar currencies are based on the Investment Manager&#8217;s fundamental macroeconomic outlook, technical factors and the Investment Manager&#8217;s desired market positioning.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Under normal market conditions, the Portfolio invests significantly (at least 40%&#8212;unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by the Investment Manager, in which case the Portfolio would invest at least 30%) in issuers organized or located outside the US or doing a substantial amount of business outside the US, securities denominated in a foreign currency or foreign currency forward contracts. The Investment Manager allocates the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among various regions, countries and currencies, including the United States and the US dollar (but in no less than three different countries or currencies). The Portfolio may invest in securities of issuers with business activities located in emerging market countries or denominated in an emerging market currency.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest up to 15% of its assets in securities that are rated below investment grade (lower than Baa by Moody&#8217;s or lower than BBB by S&amp;P) (&#8220;junk bonds&#8221;) or the unrated equivalent as determined by the Investment Manager. There are no restrictions on the Portfolio&#8217;s average portfolio maturity or duration or on the maturities of the individual debt and income producing securities and other instruments in which it may invest.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">In addition to purchasing or selling foreign currency forward contracts, the Portfolio may, but is not required to, purchase and sell options on foreign currencies, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>821848348370551124494719710248~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20136 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000035892Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00500.00500.00000.00250.08310.25710.08810.2646-0.0801-0.25360.00800.0110~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20134 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000035892Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20135 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000035892Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks total return from current income and capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. 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However, although the value of a mortgage-related security may decline when interest rates rise, the converse is not necessarily true, since during periods of declining interest rates the mortgages underlying the security are more likely to be prepaid.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The risks of asset-backed securities are similar to those of mortgage-related securities. However, asset-backed securities present certain risks that are not presented by mortgage-related securities. 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As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. 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The size of certain debt securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than debt offerings in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Hedging Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager may not be able to accurately predict movements in exchange rates and there may be imperfect correlations between movements in exchange rates that could cause the Portfolio to incur significant losses. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on currencies and structured products are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the exchange-traded options and other derivatives transactions in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related currency or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 47% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>0.47Performance Bar Chart and Table<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio did not have a full calendar year of performance as of the date of this Prospectus, no performance returns are presented. Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in performance from year to year. Comparison of Portfolio performance to an appropriate index indicates how the Portfolio&#8217;s average annual returns compare with that of a broad measure of market performance. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>Because the Portfolio did not have a full calendar year of performance as of the date of this Prospectus, no performance returns are presented.Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in performance from year to year.The Portfolio's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comLazard Multi-Asset Targeted Volatility PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Investment Manager allocates the Portfolio&#8217;s assets among various US and non-US equity and fixed-income strategies managed by the Investment Manager in proportions consistent with the Investment Manager&#8217;s evaluation of various economic and other factors designed to estimate probabilities, including volatility. 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The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>92341122434~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20141 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000037196Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.00850.00850.00000.00250.00300.00350.01150.0145-0.0025-0.00250.00900.0120~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20139 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000037196Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20140 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000037196Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)"Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks total return.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Allocation Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s ability to achieve its investment objective depends in part on the Investment Manager&#8217;s skill in determining the Portfolio&#8217;s allocation among investment strategies. The Investment Manager&#8217;s evaluations and assumptions underlying its allocation decisions may differ from actual market conditions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Volatility Management Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While the Investment Manager generally will seek to achieve, over a full market cycle, the level of volatility in the Portfolio&#8217;s performance as described above, there can be no guarantee that this will be achieved; actual or realized volatility for any particular period may be materially higher or lower depending on market conditions. In addition, the Investment Manager&#8217;s efforts to manage the Portfolio&#8217;s volatility can be expected, in a period of generally positive equity market returns, to reduce the Portfolio&#8217;s performance below what could be achieved without seeking to manage volatility and, thus, the Portfolio would generally be expected to underperform market indices that do not seek to achieve a specified level of volatility.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Value Investing and Growth Investing Risks.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may invest a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The Portfolio also may invest a portion of its assets in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to have the potential for growth, but that may not realize such perceived potential for extended periods of time or may never realize such perceived growth potential. Such stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they can be more sensitive to investor perceptions of the issuing company&#8217;s growth potential. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and other developments than other types of stocks.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Fixed-Income and Debt Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. Non-investment grade securities tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a debt security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security&#8217;s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio&#8217;s share price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Some debt securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of declining interest rates, the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio may not fully benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Structured notes are privately negotiated debt instruments where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to a specified asset, market or rate, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. Structured notes can have risks of both debt securities and derivative transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>ETF Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Any investments in ETFs are subject to the risks of the investments of the ETFs, as well as to the general risks of investing in ETFs. Portfolio shares will bear not only the Portfolio&#8217;s management fees and operating expenses, but also their proportional share of the management fees and operating expenses of any ETFs in which the Portfolio invests. Shares of ETFs in which the Portfolio invests may trade at prices that vary from their NAVs, sometimes significantly. The shares of ETFs may trade at prices at, below or above their most recent NAV.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Liquidity Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The lack of a readily available market may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. The size of certain securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than offerings in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Hedging Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager may not be able to accurately predict movements in exchange rates and there may be imperfect correlations between movements in exchange rates that could cause the Portfolio to incur significant losses. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm"></font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes such as those in which the Portfolio may engage, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Swap agreements, forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on securities, indexes and currencies and structured notes are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the futures contracts and exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related security, index or currency. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Because the Portfolio had not commenced investment operations prior to the date of this Prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is presented.</font> </p>Performance Bar Chart and Table<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Because the Portfolio has not commenced investment operations prior to the date of this Prospectus, no performance returns are presented. Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in performance from year to year. Comparison of Portfolio performance to an appropriate index indicates how the Portfolio&#8217;s average annual returns compare with that of a broad measure of&#160;market performance. After the Portfolio commences investment operations, performance information will be&#160;available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800)&#160;823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>Because the Portfolio has not commenced investment operations prior to the date of this Prospectus, no performance returns are presented.Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in performance from year to year.The Portfolio's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comLazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies PortfolioPrincipal Investment Strategies<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio utilizes an asset allocation strategy to invest in a global portfolio of uncorrelated assets that can include exposure, through underlying vehicles, to stocks, bonds, commodities and other investments.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio invests primarily in common stock of exchange-traded open-end management investment companies and similar products, which generally pursue a passive index-based strategy (commonly known as ETFs), as well as actively managed closed-end management investment companies (&#8220;closed-end funds&#8221;) and exchange-traded notes (&#8220;ETNs&#8221; and collectively with ETFs and closed-end funds, &#8220;Underlying Funds&#8221;). ETFs and ETNs in which the Portfolio may invest include both ETFs and ETNs designed to correlate directly with an index and ETFs and ETNs designed to correlate inversely with an index and may include actively-managed ETFs. The Portfolio, through Underlying Funds in which it invests, may invest in non-US companies (including those in emerging markets), and the Portfolio also may invest directly in equity and debt securities in addition to its investments in Underlying Funds. The Portfolio&#8217;s investment portfolio is concentrated in a relatively small number of holdings (generally 10 to 30). <i>Investors can invest directly in Underlying Funds and do not need to invest in Underlying Funds through mutual funds or separately managed accounts.</i></font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may, but is not required to, effect short sales of securities; enter into futures contracts on indexes, commodities, interest rates and currencies; enter into equity, total return and currency swap agreements, and forward currency contracts; and write put and covered call options on securities (including ETFs and ETNs), indexes and currencies, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns, including as a substitute for purchasing an Underlying Fund.</font> </p>Example<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</font> </p>144467814179317461210762362~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleTransposed20146 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000020883Member row primary compact * ~Fees and Expenses<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.</font> </p>-0.0100-0.01000.01000.01000.00000.00250.00120.00420.00390.00390.01510.0206-0.0010-0.00350.01410.0171~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleShareholderFees20144 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000020883Member row primary compact * ~~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpenses20145 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000020883Member row primary compact * ~2014-04-30Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)Investment Objective<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.</font> </p>Principal Investment Risks<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio&#8217;s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Issuer Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer&#8217;s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Underlying Funds Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Shares of ETFs and closed-end funds in which the Portfolio invests may trade at prices that vary from their NAVs, sometimes significantly. The shares of ETFs and closed-end funds may trade at prices at, below or above their most recent NAV. Shares of closed-end funds, in particular, frequently trade at persistent discounts to their NAV. In addition, the performance of an ETF pursuing a passive index-based strategy may diverge from the performance of the index. ETNs may not trade in the secondary market, but typically are redeemable by the issuer. The Portfolio&#8217;s investments in Underlying Funds are subject to the risks of Underlying Funds&#8217; investments, as well as to the general risks of investing in Underlying Funds. Portfolio shares will bear not only the Portfolio&#8217;s management fees and operating expenses, but also their proportional share of the management fees and operating expenses of the ETFs and closed-end funds in which the Portfolio invests. While ETNs do not have management fees, they are subject to certain investor fees. ETNs are debt securities that, like ETFs, typically are listed on exchanges and their terms generally provide for a return that tracks specified market indexes. However, unlike ETFs and closed-end funds, ETNs are not registered investment companies and thus are not regulated under the 1940 Act. In addition, as debt securities, ETNs are subject to the additional risk of the creditworthiness of the issuer. ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio may be limited by the 1940 Act in the amount of its assets that may be invested in ETFs and closed-end funds unless an ETF or a closed-end fund has received an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#8220;SEC&#8221;) on which the Portfolio may rely or an exemption is available.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-US Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to currency fluctuations, less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Emerging Market Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Debt Securities Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The market value of debt securities is affected by changes in prevailing interest rates and the perceived credit quality of the issuer. When prevailing interest rates fall or perceived credit quality improves, the market value of the affected debt securities generally rises. Conversely, when interest rates rise or perceived credit quality weakens, the market value of the affected debt securities generally declines.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Non-Diversification Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Although the Portfolio is classified as &#8220;diversified&#8221; under the 1940 Act, it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios. The Portfolio&#8217;s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio&#8217;s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Short Sale Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Short sales may involve substantial risks. Short sales of securities expose the Portfolio to the risk that it will be required to &#8220;cover&#8221; the short position at a time when the underlying security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Portfolio that could be substantial.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Foreign Currency Hedging Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager may not be able to accurately predict movements in exchange rates and there may be imperfect correlations between movements in exchange rates that could cause the Portfolio to incur significant losses. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>Derivatives Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Swap agreements, forward currency contracts and over-the-counter options on securities (including options on ETFs and ETNs), indexes and currencies are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the futures contracts and exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related index, commodity, interest rate, currency, security or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even when entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.</font> </p> <br/><p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.5mm"><b>High Portfolio Turnover Risk.</b></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio&#8217;s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio&#8217;s shareholders.</font> </p>The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.Portfolio Turnover<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 139% of the average value of its portfolio.</font> </p>1.39Performance Bar Chart and Table Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31<p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio by showing the Portfolio&#8217;s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio&#8217;s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.</font> </p>0.21210.1458-0.03280.0916~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsBarChart20147 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000020883Member column rr_ProspectusShareClassAxis compact cik0000874964_C000058929Member row primary compact * ~Best Quarter:0.14662009-06-30Worst Quarter:-0.10442011-09-30<table cellspacing="0" style="WIDTH: 100%; MARGIN-LEFT: 0%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0%"> <tr valign="top"> <td style="WIDTH: 76.14%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 2.63%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> <td style="WIDTH: 21.59%"> <p> <font style="FONT-SIZE: 0.6mm"/> </p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> <p> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p align="left"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b/></font> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="3"> </td> <td> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.1mm"><b>Best Quarter:</b><br/> 6/30/09 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc">14.66</font>%<br/> <font style="WORD-SPACING: -0.25pc"></font><b><br/> Worst Quarter:</b><br/> 9/30/11 <font style="WORD-SPACING: 0.67pc">-10.44</font>%</font> </p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px"> </p> </td> </tr> </table>Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012) <p style="MARGIN: 2.1mm 0px 0px"> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor&#8217;s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The Global Asset Allocation Blended Index is rebalanced quarterly and is a blended index constructed by the Investment Manager that is comprised of 60% MSCI World Index and 40% Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 2.5mm"><sup></sup></font><font style="FONT-SIZE: 2.5mm"><sup><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif">&#174;</font><font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif"></font></sup></font> <font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 3.8mm">Index.</font> </p> 0.09160.02400.09040.01860.06120.01810.08840.02170.15830.00660.15830.00750.11300.03460.11300.03512008-03-312008-03-26~ http://lazard.com/20130426/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualReturnsTransposed20148 column dei_LegalEntityAxis compact cik0000874964_S000020883Member column rr_PerformanceMeasureAxis compact * row primary compact * ~After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure of market performance.The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.The Global Asset Allocation Blended Index is rebalanced quarterly and is a blended index constructed by the Investment Manager that is comprised of 60% MSCI World Index and 40% Barclays Capital US Aggregate Bond Index.(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)(800) 823-6300www.LazardNet.comThe after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.